Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-16
DENTISTRY.
How Different People Visit
the Operators Office.
DIFFERENCE IN PRICES.
False Teeth-HOw They Look
How They are Made.
Working Tools.

the enameled bones he uses III prepar'
ing his food for digestion. There are
Just thirty-two thorns in the flesh OF
his mouth, and unless exact proper
tions were observed in their compost
ton. are an unqualified abomination.
Through life they are painful and ex-
pensive, those tiny, pearly points that
so delight young mothers heart, and
carry on yearly a grand holocaust
among the infant population. The
babies bring them forth in agony OF
spirit, often yielding up life itself in
the effort to force the little milk-white
bicuspids through their soft, pinkish
cushions. 1t seems so useless, too-all
the poor little souls endure, unless one
counts it in an economical disposition
of surplus humanity-for no sooner
has a vigorous child succeeded in liv-
ing to complete the pretty row of baby
teeth that nature demands their in
slant removal. The first set safely cut,
she pushes them out to give place to
an entirely new lot that pretend to
perrnanency, and yet with fully half
the world her second installment is
quite as perishable as their predeces-
sors. All this moralizing and good
deal more to the same effect is gen.
orally INDUCED in by the shrinking
martyr who sits enthroned in the dent
lists shop. He speculates be-
tween whiles on this intricate
problem, and wonders why if of
necessity man must have teeth they
could not have been more conveniently
arranged; why they do not grow as the
hair and finger-nails, or remain un-
changingly useful as the tongue, palate
and other masticating machinery.
The entire plan seems so faulty, and
when that kind but firm gentleman,
the dentist, clasps his cleaning forceps
over the victims head, and in sooth-
ing tones assures him it will be all
over in few minutes, and / will try
not to hurt you," the whole manly
soul rises in rebellion against the
system of odontology.
TAKING THEM OUT.
Possibly no welcome guests ever
paid more reluctant visits than patients
do to their dental doctors. When it
means an utter clearing away of debris
and dredging for roots the courage re-
quired is something supernatural. 1t
takes nothing less than the fortitude
of woman to stand the ordeal. Nine
dentists out of ten tell the same story
it is easier by far to work for women
than men. They hesitate to a degree
before mastering sufficient strength,
but when once the feminine heart is
keyed up to the proper tone, she would
allow the entire roofing to be torn from
her mouth before uttering groan.
1t is truly interesting sometimes to see
a frail little creature, an animated
bundle of nerves, who has decided
inclination for hysteria, grasp the
arm and brace her feet against the
lower round of chair and prepare
for execution. Not sound does she
make, and save for digging of the
fingers and boot-heels in the soft plush,
one would scarcely realize the woman
was experiencing all the delightful
sensations of being rent III pieces, torn
up by the very roots of her being.
They are unfinching, but one can
partially realize what they undergo
in witnessing a man pass through the
same thing. The noble brute sits down,
and begins by trying to tie himself
in double bow knot and writhe all
over the chair at the same time. He
inquiries with childlike credulity as to
whether the doctor thinks it will
hurt, and wants to know how long,
lust how long, it takes to extract
teeth. After passing through all the
intermediate stages between shrinking
timidity and confding trust in his
torturer's powers OF averting evil, the
man proceeds to lose his temper
"Belieyes he'll let the confounded old
thing go anyhow" Just came down
to get the dentist to look and see what
was the matter, and has an engage
ment to meet man in fifteen minutes
and SO the hero retires to have another
fight with odontalgia and wait to be
driven to drawing as last resort from
the enemy.
NOT NATURES MAKE.
In reviewing all the pain connected
with owning the genuine articles ana
keeping them in order, it seems pity
one could not be false from the begin
ming. The observer scarcely appreci-
ates how many of his kind have aban-
doned first principles and gone over
artificial masticators until in some big
assembly he notes the vast amount OF
smiling celluloid and fine china that
flashes from every other mouth. They
are unmistakable and should be ac-
counted one of the elegancies of the
age. Picture the population who now
laugh through rows of porcelain open
ing unfurnished caverns to the world.
1t is CHASTITY reflection, and should
bring down honor on the head OF the
man who first conceived the idea OF
supplementing natures rather shabby
work in the dental line.
A quaint story has been handed
down of fine old Roman or Greek
commander, who, amid the carnage
of battle, spit out his false teeth,
where they lay concealed for ages
until turned up by the prying pick OF
some inquisitive explorer. 1t reads
very well for legend, but is rather
lame to be passed around for authen-
tic history, and is only offered as a
stimulant for the imagination. Ger
tain it is that only within the past
fifty wears have ordinary individuals
been able to eat with bought teeth.
Kings and princes could afford to have
gold and silversmiths fashion their
incisors and Molars, but this century
has revolutionized the whole business
and made the luxury a necessity.
Chewing made easy is a seemly
motto for several big manufactures in
this country, who coin yearly many
hundred thousands of highly polished
teeth. Where fifty years ago it re-
quired in the neighborhood of a hun
dred dollars to procure a good set, a
first-class article may to-day be pur-